Information for beginner

[Smudger687]

Hello

I'm in the process of dipping my toes into the world of gundog ownership.

I've decided on getting a labrador, but otherwise know relatively little about what to look for, who to buy from, what's a fair price etc. 

Any information is appreciated. 

[Rob85]

Just don't be tempted to rush out and spend a fortune on a hot headed field trial grade ferrari of a lab with a sea of red down both sides of its pedigree. Ideally you would be wanting to see the parents of the pups and at a minimum you will want to see the bitch.

Everyone has a different formula when they go to choose a pup, some people want to pick that bold brash pup who is really confident and others prefer to choose a calmer one. Personally when I go to choose I will have decided if its a dog or bitch I'm after then ill spend at least half an hour to an hour watching the pups, how they interact with each other and how they move about, and then ill see how they behave around me, ill be picking one that is comfortable with me and wants to follow and play with me.... not the one that's trying to escape the kennel and rush off to do his/her own thing.

Do you have any friends that have gundogs or have access to a local shoot where you can watch people working their labs.

What ultimately are you expecting of your dog when you are working it?

As far as prices go its hard to say, thankfully they have become sensible again though after the lockdown madness and good prices can be found

[Dave at kelton]

See my comments in the previous post what to look for in a Labrador.

Good advice above. It’s difficult when you are starting out and with little or no experience. It is worth seeing if someone will take you under their wing and show you different dogs working on say a commercial shoot. It will give you a feel for what you want in a dog. This of course differs. Is it an all rounder, a peg dog or for picking up or wildfowling.

I definitely advise against a lot of red ink early on. Many of the trial dogs are fast and a handful to train so not recommended for novices. Proven working stock should give you an easier life for your first dog. As has been said take your time choosing and there are some good dogs to be had at the £800 mark or less with people being stuck with pups they can’t sell due to low demand.

Good luck!

 

[Lloyd90]

On 22/11/2022 at 20:02, Smudger687 said:

Hello

I'm in the process of dipping my toes into the world of gundog ownership.

I've decided on getting a labrador, but otherwise know relatively little about what to look for, who to buy from, what's a fair price etc. 

Any information is appreciated. 

Your first massive success, is asking for advice and help, before rushing out and buying a dog that may have been entirely unsuited for what you want it to do. 
 

Think long and hard about what you want the dog for and to do, then go and see several bitches in action doing those jobs. 
 

Don’t rush and don’t buy the first pup that catches your eye. 
 

You’re already off to a good start 👍🏻

 

Be warned that many a “friendly trainer” will try and do you a favour by selling you a pup from the litter they just so happen to have had (aka wants to get rid of!). 

[Smudger687]

Thanks everyone. 

The dog's main role will be for fowling, and possibly some picking up here and there. I'm not fussed on them being some super able award winner; as long as they retrieve and sit still when told to that's sufficient for now. 

Any preferences/differences between males or females as far as training and behaviour?

[Rob85]

The advice i was given at the start was to always start with a bitch because they tend to be easier trained. Then I read one of the great books by Joe Irving where he states something like you get the odd dog who is gay and you can get a bitch who could break the heart of a wooden God....not quite PC but his words and not mine.

Guess what kind of spaniel bitch I had as a first dog! 🤣

As Lloyd says do be wary of some of the trainers, when I sought help from one of the top guys in NI at the time he was adamant my dog wasn't "with" me and advised I sell her on and coincidentally a friend of his had a part trained bitch he was selling 🙄

[Penelope]

18 hours ago, Smudger687 said:

Thanks everyone. 

The dog's main role will be for fowling, and possibly some picking up here and there. I'm not fussed on them being some super able award winner; as long as they retrieve and sit still when told to that's sufficient for now. 

Any preferences/differences between males or females as far as training and behaviour?

Bitches tend to be a bit easier, all round, but it's a generalisation. My current one had a lot of red, was hot and somewhat hard work.

[B725]

I've never subscribed to bitches are easier or more faithful than dog's, it's how you interact with whatever sex you buy and how you train it, the more you put in the more you will get out. A lot of people get to a certain stage of training and then just think that will do so never end up with a really well trained dog. There are of course exception's my last Springer was by his own nature unbelievabley easy to train you only had to show him a couple of times what you wanted and he just did it.

[Dave at kelton]

I have only ever had dogs but see many a hard going bitch when out working the boys. I have never subscribed to easy or difficult to train in any dog it’s about working with what you have in front of you, taking your time and putting the graft in throughout their lives. Training is never finished until you retire a dog.